Nope, that isn't a typo. Banned Books Week begins this Sunday, September 26, and runs all week long. Take this opportunity to curl up with a favorite banned / censored / challenged book (Lolita! Little House on the Prairie! The Koran!) Choose from this list of classics, find out which titles were most frequently banned or challenged this year, or read the NY Times list of 10 ways to celebrate BBW.
Lila loves Banned Books Week. To celebrate it she is hosting four action-packed and AL convo credit bearing talks during the week! All will be on the first floor of the library in the McWhorter lab.
September 27, 3:30pm Fable as Subversion, Fable as Propaganda: Of Cockroaches, Kings, Saddam's Musical, and Arabic Drama. Dr. James Al-Shamma
Sept. 28 1pm - ‘Guilty Objects': Breaking Taboos in the Visual Arts Dr. Judy Bullington asks: What do a Renaissance artist, a caricaturist, a cosmopolitan painter, and a modern abstract artist have in common? All created works that crossed political, religious, or moral boundaries of the day resulting in some form public censorship of their art.
Sept. 29 10am - Constraints on Musical Style: The Case of Shostakovich. Dr. Terry Klefstad discusses the impact of the Soviet government on composer Dmitri Shostakovich: Do governmental policies like this prevent composers from reaching their creative potential, or can such constraints be overcome to create music that appeals to listeners beyond their time and culture?
Sept. 30 11:30am - Hear No Evil Professor Mark Volman asks: Why is music censored? - and who are the censors?
Yep, you heard me. After years of tossing your ...um, snacks, Lila has decided to allow food and drink in the library. I know, how magnanimous, right?
Just one qualification: food is allowed only in the atrium areas on the first through third floors. No food by the books or computers! Drinks are allowed everywhere you want to be, but only in sealed / lidded containers.
Lila is offering several options for convo credit this semester. These are eligible for Personal/Professional Development:
If You Like ProQuest, You’ll Love This! Judy Williams Sept. 20 Noon
You may know about ProQuest, a good database for starting your research. Well, ProQuest has been replaced by something better – Academic Search Premier! This new database offers you more journals and more articles in an easy-to-use format. Come see what it’s all about!
Business Research: Finding Company and Industry Info Jenny Rushing Oct. 14 10am
Learn how to find hard to locate company and industry reports using our newest database, Business Source Premier, LexisNexis, and others.
Finding Full Text: Use the Web and the Library Together Jenny Rushing Oct. 28 10:00am
So, you've found all these great citations on Wikipedia. Now how do you find the full text? You've heard about some interesting research from CNN. How do you find the actual study? Learn to use the library to locate articles you find through the Web or other secondary sources.
Turabian and the Chicago Manual of Style Rachel Scott Nov. 10 10:00am
Citation styles are not often named after people, so Kate Larimore Turabian (1893-1987) must have done something right! Come to this convo to learn how to channel your inner Kate and use Turabian and Chicago style in your papers.
And the Banned Books Week Convos are eligible for Academic Lecture:
Fable as Subversion, Fable as Propaganda: Of Cockroaches, Kings, Saddam's Musical, and Arabic Drama. September 27, 3:30pm
Dr. James Al-Shamma will discuss how the fable has been transposed to the Arabic stage. The fable has the advantage of operating as metaphor, and theatrical metaphor has been deployed as a strategy for outwitting the censor within many autocratic societies. Through fables of insects and kings, often adapted directly from The Arabian Nights, various Arabic playwrights have subversively critiqued their repressive governments. Fable may be employed as a tool of propaganda as well, as in the case of the musical Zabiba and the King, which premiered at the Iraqi National Theater in 2002 and which is based on a novel attributed to none other than Saddam Hussein.
‘Guilty Objects': Breaking Taboos in the Visual Arts Dr. Judy Bullington Sept. 28 1pm
What do a Renaissance artist, a caricaturist, a cosmopolitan painter, and a modern abstract artist have in common? All created works that crossed political, religious, or moral boundaries of the day resulting in some form public censorship of their art.
Constraints on Musical Style: The Case of Shostakovich Dr. Terry Klefstad Sept. 29 10am
Dmitri Shostakovich came of age during the early years of the Soviet Union. When the government's attention turned to music in the early 1930s, Shostakovich was known as a young composer with great potential, and was already famous throughout the Western musical world. His early efforts in a modernist style were soon abandoned when the Soviet government began to dictate to composers their musical style, requiring a simpler sound that could be appreciated by the masses. The question then arises: Do governmental policies like this prevent composers from reaching their creative potential, or can such constraints be overcome to create music that appeals to listeners beyond their time and culture?
Hear No Evil Professor Mark Volman Sept. 30 11:30am
Why is music censored? - and who are the censors? Music censorship first reared its head in the 1950s, when rock and roll’s growing influence threatened white, middle-class values. The 1960s saw the FBI’s involvement in musician’s personal and political lives, as officials began keeping tabs on Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and John Lennon. Song references to sex and drugs tormented censors throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s, eventually giving way to hysteria over lyrics promoting suicide and devil worship in the 1980s. In 1985, the Parents Music Resource Center, led by a cadre of politicians’ wives, called for the recording industry to place Parental Advisory stickers on potentially offensive albums. Instead of quelling concerns, the stickers unleashed a barrage of state laws that required retailers to regulate distribution or pay the price (a hefty fee or even jail time). In the meantime, the banned albums benefited from the notoriety. Ultimately, community and federal censors have threatened civil liberties while entangling their organizations in a costly fight to maintain an ambiguous definition of decency.
Great news for Lila's little Belmonsters...(allowing the anticipation to build)...The very awesome Writing Center gurus will be operating out of the library from 10am-noon on Tuesdays and 9am-12:30pm on Wednesdays! This is in addition to their main operation in Wheeler 210 (9am-6pm MWF, 9-6:30pm Tu, and 9am-8pm Th). Call 460-6241 to schedule a 30-minute session and bring a copy of your assignment with.
